Women in Management Awards

WIM IFC “Top50” Professional & Career Women Awards 2021

Date: 18th January 2022
Venue: Shangri-La Hotel Colombo

Guests of Honor

Theme

“Empowered Women For A Resilient Future” (Event Colour Theme Black & Yellow)

Panel of Judges

Committee

Award Winners

NoCategoryNameTitle
1Human Resources (Includes HR, HRD & IR)Dinali Peiris, Director Group Human Resources MAS Holdings, Board Member on the MAS Holdings Apparel Board and its Sustainability Advisory Committee, Board Member of the UN Global Compact NetworkGold
2Banking Industry (Banking Professionals)Keasila Jayawardana, Chairperson National Savings Bank, published several academic articles on topics in Political Science including Preferential Voting SystemGold
3Finance Services (Finance professionals, Auditors, Insurance services, stockbrokers & Leasing)Dinali Katipearachchi , Vice President Aitken Spence Corporate Finance (Pvt) Ltd, Head of Tax for the Aitken Spence GroupGold
4Marketing & Marketing Communications (Sales, Brands, Customer care, Public Relations) Kavindra Rajapaksha , Vice President Head of Marketing – Softlogic Life Insurance PLCGold
5LegalAmbika Satkunanathan, Open Society Foundation –Human Rights Lawyer and Fellow, she has worked with community organizations and communities impacted by human rights violations, in particular, assisting them access remedies. From Oct 2015 to March 2020, she was a Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka,Gold
6State & Government SectorHer Excellency Grace Asirwatham, Ambassador  to Belgium, Luxembourg and Head of Mission to the European Union Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri LankaGold
7Corporate CommunicationManindri Bandaranayke, Chief Branding Marketing Officer Janashakthi Insurance PLCGold
8Digital MediaTharinidi Thalahiti, Deputy Editor, Pulse – Derana Macro Entertainment (Pvt) LtdGold
9Supply Chain & LogisticsDebbe (Deborah) Dissanayake, General Manager Sales – Expo Lanka Freight (Pvt) LtdGold
10Hospitality Industry (Careers in tourism, Food & Beverages, Travel, Transport Meeting & Events, Entertainment & Attractions)Chandra Madanayake, Managing Director – Fab Foods (Pvt) LtdGold
11Arts & Entertainment IndustryAnoli Perera, And Artist and Arts Writer Her writings on contemporary Sri Lankan art were published in a number of publications including Art Asia Pacific, South Asia Journal for Culture, and numerous art catalogues and books on Sri Lankan art.  Gold
12Defense Force & Civil SecuritySSP R. A. Darshika Kumari,  The Bureau for the Abuse of Children &, Women She was the first woman in charge of Cyber Crime Division in CID  Sri Lanka PoliceGold
13SportsChief Inspector Thampu Nelka Shiromala, First ever Sri Lankan Boxing referee and Judge at the Tokyo Olympics – Sri Lanka PoliceGold
14Educator (Educational Institutes, Schools & Universities)Prof. Mangala Gunatilake, Sri Lanka Association for Laboratory Animals Science – Associated Professor of Physiology, Managing Director – Faculty of Medicine, University of ColomboGold
15Science, Technology & ResearchProf. Hiranya Peiris, Professor of Astrophysics at University College London (UCL), Director of the UCL Cosmo particle Initiative, and a Director of the Oskar Klein Centre – Royal Astronomical Society’s hall of fame – the third woman to be given the honors – by being awarded the annual Eddington Medal for “investigations of outstanding merit in theoretical astrophysics”.Gold
16Health & Medical SectorDr. Padma Sriyani Gunarathna, President – Sri Lanka Medical Association – 2021,she led a team of experts and provided regular advocacy on measures to control the COVIDGold
17Corporate Leader of the yearVidya Sivaraja, Managing Director – Fonterra Sri Lanka & Indian Subcontinent – first Sri Lankan to lead one of Fonterra’s country marketsGold
18Woman Board Director of the yearThushara Wijewardena,  Non-Executive Independent Director – Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, member of Women Execs on Boards, first female director to join a leading bank board in Sri Lanka from tech industry, tech entrepreneur and corporate directorGold
19Career Role Model of the YearThilanka Abeywardena,  Marketing and Business Operations Lead  Microsoft Sri Lanka & Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing – CMO Lead South East Asia New Markets and President – President / Council member in an honorary capacity and is the first womanGold
20Business Role Model of the YearFazeela Dharmaratna, Proprietor –  CeeBees Pre School and Child Care Centre and Crèche ServicesGold
21Male Champion of ChangeAjay Amalean, Co Founder & Managing Director –  MAS Holdings –Ajay Amalean onto lead the design and product development function at MAS, MAS as a Trustee on the board of the AYATI FoundationGold
22Social Change Maker of the yearDevadharmini Selvika Sahathevan,  Executive Director United Humanity –drugs and alcohol rehabilitation center in Batticaloa – which is the only Tamil rehabilitation center in the Eastern provinceGold
23Inspirational Professional Woman of the YearDr Maheshi Ramasamy, Principal Investigator at the Oxford Vaccine Group Consultant Physician at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Deputy Director for Graduate Entry Medicine at the University of Oxford. Her research interests are in immunology and VaccinologyGold
24Inspirational Woman of the YearProf. Nadira Karunaweera, Chair and Senior Professor of Parasitology –  Faculty of Medicine University of Colombo – Visiting Fellow at the School of Public Health, Harvard UniversityGold
25Trail Blazer of the yearAruni Goonetilleke, Chairperson – Hatton National BankGold
26Game Changer of the yearRandhula De Silva, CEO Good Life X Founder empowered 55 entrepreneurs to date, in the food & agriculture, wellness and travel sectorsGold
27Print MediaChandani Kirinde,  Senior Journalist –  Wijeya News Papers Ltd – parliamentary correspondent for the past two decades.Gold
28Electronic MediaChethana Liyanage,  Sirasa – Kantha SATANA Political presenter – female-led politics and current affairs show in Sinhala that features a female panel of guests. authored the book – Nokiyu Prawurthi (News Untold),Gold
29Career Achievements in State SectorH E Shani Calyaneratne Karunaratne, Ambassador designated at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Lebanon – Ministry of Foreign AffairsGold
30Career Achievements in Aviation SectorDevika Ellepola, Sales Manager Commercial Operations Sri Lanka, Emirates AirlineGold
31Career Achievements in EngineeringDarshika Jayasekara, Road Development Authority – Project Director New Bridge Construction Project over Kelaniya RiverGold
32Career Achievements – Compliance & LegalSummaiya Macan Markar, Chief Legal, Compliance and Privacy Officer – Allianz Insurance Lanka LtdGold
33Local Global (Outstanding Personality who is Sri Lankan and leading global ventureSuhanya Raffel  M+ Hong Kong – Museum Director – first Sri Lankan Museum Director of M+ Hong Kong – a major new museum of contemporary Visual CultureGold
34Positive Media Campaign on the empowerment of WomenNDB & SIRASA, Sri Lanka Vanithaabhimana – Vanithabhimana is the flagship collaborative initiative of National Development Bank PLC and News First of Capital Maharaja Group Gold
35Best NGO/INGO or Association fostering Women’s EmpowermentSOS Children’s Villages, SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka is an independent non-governmental organization Gold
36Best Organizational Culture Award (Gender Equal, Inclusive and Respectful WorkplaceAIA Insurance Lanka Ltd, member of AIA Group, the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurer, with a presence in 18 markets across the Asia-Pacific region Gold
37Best ESG Project on Women’s empowerment by an organizationHirdaramani Apparel, Wonder of Wellbeing or WOW is a holistic and engaging program operating across the dimension of wellbeing for Hirdaramani’s workforce, their families and society Gold
38Inspirational Woman with Attitude and SkillsAsanthi Ruwanmali De Silva,  Swimmer and Writer – A novel writer, song writer, poet, critic and swimmer, Asanthi sees the world by her own vision of love Gold
39Inspirational Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Harshi Manamendra,  Ishara Ventures (Pvt) Ltd – Founding Director –This is the only woman in Sri Lanka who design lorries & trucksHarshi Manamendra, an entrepreneur, educator, Mechanical Engineer, designer, innovator and the Managing Director of Ishara Ventures (Pvt) Ltd

 Gold

40

 

Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur (Large) one new venturesShea Wickramasinghe, Managing Director Ceylon Biscuits Limited –two manufacturing plants in Bangladesh and Ghana  – Partner for SPAR International.Gold
41Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur (Small)Kirithika Thushyantha, Founder and Managing Director of Technobrain International (Pvt) Ltd, a technology solution provider, and also the founder of Batticaloa IT park, a tech co-working spaceGold
42Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur (Small)Adhisha Dahanayake,  Double XL (Pvt) Ltd – . As an athlete, Adhisha holds the national power lifting title for 2021Gold
43Upcoming Woman EntrepreneurWimalaguna Kodituwakku Nayanathara, Owner   Tara Watergate Hotel – first environmentally and community friendly boutique hotel in TissamaharamaGold
44Upcoming Woman EntrepreneurPulani Ranasinghe, Forming Loons Lab Loons Lab (Pvt) LtdGold
45Upcoming Woman EntrepreneurShanthini Ahangama, Coconut Miracle, created  Coconut Miracles (Pvt) LtdGold
46Upcoming Woman EntrepreneurD M Podimanike, Bhagya Pan Products – (Polonnaruwa)Gold
47Upcoming Woman EntrepreneurG.Sivajothi, Lakshmi Products – (Karathiv) Ampara DistrictGold
48Social Entrepreneur of the YearRuchini Liyanage, Owner Sunimal’s – eco-friendly handmade products locally and internationallyGold
49Judges AwardsDr. Vajira Chitrasena, a veteran Sri Lankan traditional dancer, choreographer, and teacher “prima ballerina of Kandyan dance”. She is the first Sri Lankan woman to practice the traditional Kandyan danceGold
50Professional Role Model of the year – MaldivesJustice Aisha Shujune Muhammad,  Justice to the Supreme Court – one of the first two female Justices appointed to the Maldivian Supreme Court in 2019Gold
51Career Achiever of the Year – MaldivesAishath Jennifer, Deputy Managing Director Island Aviation Services Ltd – parent company of the national airline, MaldivianGold
52Woman with a Cause – MaldivesDr. Fathimath Nazla Rafeeg,  Health Protection Agency – Medical Officer (Head Communicable Disease Control)Gold
53Inspirational Woman of the Year – MaldivesMaimoona Aboobakuru, Director General Health Protection AgencyGold
54Climate Action Award – MaldivesAishath Hudha Ahmed,  Independent Environment Consultant – in charge of Energy and Environment portfolio, and was also the Director of Renewable Energy Maldives (Pvt) Ltd, a member of National Planning Committee, Governing board of EPA and Maldives National University CouncilGold
55Entrepreneur of the Year – MaldivesAbidha Ismail Ali, Owner – Designer Fabrics – she runs a business selling exclusive one-piece design fabrics from Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia and other countriesGold
56

WIM Member of the Year

Waruni Algama, Exco Member, Senior GM Dialog Axiata PLCAppreciation Award
57

Appreciation of partners of WIM Success

Dr.Kishu Gomes, Managing Director and CEO of Dreamron Group of CompaniesAppreciation Award
58Appreciation of partners of WIM SuccessSenior DIG Dr. Ajith Rohana, Crime & Traffic, Sri Lanka PoliceAppreciation Award
59

Appreciation of partners of WIM Success

Dr. Rohantha Athukorala, Country Head, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Pakistan, Clootrack LabsAppreciation Award

Our Sponsors this year

Co-Partners
International Finance Corporation
australian aid
Platinum Sponsor
Dialog
Gold Sponsors
salto international
singer
Silver Sponsors
lankaioc
vision care
Sponsors
maliban
Gift Sponsor
vivya
Print Media Sponsors
daily_mirror
lankadeepa
tamil_mirror
Digital Media Sponsors
lankadeepa-online
tamil_mirror_online

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